It's only forever
by ShadowZelda-hime
Summary: Syaoran and Kimihiro Li are the only remaining members of their dinasty; Kurogane and Yuuko are the last of their clan. In the middle of a war, the only way to ensure the survival of both families is...marriage!- Watanuki/Yuuko. AU
1. Prologue

As most fairytales, it begins with a birth. Two births, to be specific; the birth of two twin boys, but these births coincided with three other things, things that were important. Maybe not great catastrophes, or world famous miracles, but to the two boys that were born that day, they would be very important. Things related to the people they'd hold dear in the future.

One: Their mother's birthday. She gave birth to them on the anniversary of her own wake to life. And as she contemplated the auburn hair of the eldest twin and the deep blue eyes of the youngest, she thanked life for coming her way.

Two: Their father's birthday. He carried his children for the first time as a birthday present. The first child, he noticed, looked a lot like him, while the second looked more like his father-in-law. Despite this, he loved both from the moment he felt them in his arms, from the moment they cuddled together next to his chest, hearing his heart-beat.

As for number three...


	2. One Night

"Yui, Fai"

"Yes, mother!" replied the two blonde children, approaching with towels on their hands. Their mother, the hair so bright it seemed a cascade of silver threads, smiled to them, taking the towels from their hands and wipping her bloody hands. It was most likely that she was the most tired of all in the house; she'd accompanied her Mistress since the first contractions befell her and hadn't allowed herself to leave her side until both babies where safe on their father's arms. She was positively dusted, but satisfied to know she'd been able to help the masters who'd been so good to her.

On her youth, she had been the concubine of a king who had bred her two boys, but then died in a war. The successor, a young prince who she'd grown with, had been kind enough to allow her to leave the castle with her sons, despite the fact that common procedure was to kill the other heirs, and so, they had abandoned their country, searching for new horizons. No one on this new, strange country would give her a work to sustain her children, the trio slumbered and hungered in their misery, the fact that the two boys where actually princes long forgotten. Then, one day, the mother and the two boys helped a woman carry the bags with things she'd bought for a banquet. That woman got them a job as servants despite the fact that the mother's name betrayed their foreign origins: Chii

Four years had passed since then. The woman they'd helped carry the bags had married a powerful landlord and hired them in her house, where they lacked nothing.

"Please bring something so that the masters can dine" Chii instructed her children "They haven't eaten one thing since yesterday"

"That's because Master Syaoran was really scared" said Yui.

"Yeah, he thought Mistress Sakura was going to die, for sure" said Fai.

"We can thank our benignant God he was mistaken" sighed the mother, relieved. The boys nodded and hugged her. They had feared for their mistress too. They couldn't remember their father or their country, or even their heirloom, and the house and people they now served was their everything. Lord Syaoran had always been kind to them, despite the fact that they were lowly servants, and Mistress Sakura had often played with them where they were younger.

Yes, their masters where indeed precious to them and their mother.

"Go on, now!" said Chii, patting them in the back and releasing them "We have much to do. Mistress Sakura will have to eat a lot to produce milk for both babies...I still fear we will have to find a nurse for the second-born...we must also ready the bathroom so that the mother and children can have their first bath together. And after that, we ll have to send the news to the family, of course"

"Have they decided the names yet?" asked Fai.

"No. But I'm sure they will soon enough"

"I wonder if they'll let us play with them when they're older" said Yui"

"I don't see why not" said Chii, smiling at the memory of how the Mistress had kindly asked her for her sons to be the main playmates of the babies in the years to come "Run along!"

"Yes, mother!" replied the boys, turning to leave for the kitchen, the blonde bangs hanging from their heads gracefully. Chii rested a shoulder against the wall, seriously considering getting some sleep before preparing the bath...

But of course, that s when number three came.

Someone was knocking at the door insistently, every blow echoing through the mansion. Chii raised her head reluctantly to look at one of the clocks on the wall, her eyes widened slightly as she saw the time. Two o'clock in the morning. Who could have such a hurry at that time? However, if they kept knocking, they'd end up bothering her masters. With a sigh, she walked to the door.

"Yes?" she said softly, opening the black wooden door. The excuse she was about to give died in her lips, her eyes widened and the drowsiness was replaced by surprise. Before her stood a panting boy, no older than ten years old, his hair was raven colored, very short and spikey, his eyes were of a rare crimson color. There was blood and dirt all over him, scratches and wounds covered his arms and legs and he seemed exhausted, yet, he was carrying a little girl on his back, her ribbon-like hair the same color as his, her skin pearly white. She couldn't be more than four years old, yet her bare feet where already covered with bruises and bleeding scratches. She was wounded too, but much less than the boy and Chii could only imagine that was the boy's merit. Her eyes were also crimson, so Chii deduced they where relatives. Both children looked positively famished. The clothes they wore had the appearance of having once being elegant, but now where tattered, torn and stained with blood. The boy mouthed, trying to draw enough air to utter a word.

"...p-please...refuge...one night...just one..." he managed after a few failed attempts. Chii was breathless; the ghost of her own and her children's misfortune haunting her conscience in the shape of those little beings in front of her. But at least, no one had caused harm to them when they went through the same situation, these children looked like someone had really had a grudge against them.

"Oh, my goodness..." she muttered and motioned for the boy to step inside, he obeyed and she closed the door, turning the key as she did so whoever had left those children in such state could still be around. The boy all but fainted in the carpet. He managed to fall on his knees, stopping the fall, but he seemed at the border of unconsciousness.

"Hey, step down" he told the girl in a whisper, more out of exhaustion than secrecy "I'm dead"

The girl obeyed, but started slightly when her wounded feet touched the carpet. However, and despite the fact that her torn kimono showed her lacerated knees, she kneeled next to the boy, staring at him worriedly as he regained his breath.

"Mother?" came suddenly a voice from the hall.

"What's happ-?" the question died in Fai's lips as he say the new guests. Two pairs of crimson eyes rose to meet two pairs of blue eyes. The newcomer boy averted their gaze, probably envying their clean clothes, their healthy frames, the food they carried on trays in their hands. He locked his eyes on the carpeted ground, where his knees had already left two bloody markings. The girl, on the other hand, stared at Fai and Yui a little while longer, and suddenly, her small, white hand flew to her mouth, as though she where containing upcoming words and she averted her eyes too.

"Please..." the boy said in a tear-strangled voice, not daring to look at Chii "Allow us to stay for just one night. We ve been walking for two days already, and my sister is too exhausted to carry on. We won't ask for much, just a place to sleep and some food, if you can spare it...so please..."

"Mother..." Fai and Yui stared at Chii, compassion filling their features. Chii understood perfectly, the crimson-eyed girl was even younger than Fai had been when they'd been in need. She placed a gentle hand on each raven head.

"Come" she said softly "I'll lend you my bed for tonight"

The boy looked at her, surprise, disbelief and happiness flooding his features.

"...thank you! Thank you so much!" he said, bowing. The girl made a pair of clumsy bows, and at the third, she fell forward on her hands and knees. Exhaustion had gotten the best of her again. Her brother turned to her and laid a clumsy hand on her back.

"You OK?" he asked, bluntly through his worry.

She nodded.

"Come on, now" insisted Chii helping both siblings to get to their feet, feeling the thankful stares on her, feeling compassion and the urge to help these poor children "It's already late for children to be up and about. We'll get you something to eat and you can tell us what happened in the morning...that is, if you feel like it"

* * *

**C.C (a) the Author here. **

**I didn't want to start another long fic without finishing my previous one (Un paso más cerca) but I really wanted to test this idea. The fic was spawned by my wondering how Syaoran and Watanuki's life might have been like had they been born as twins, and an early theory I had about Yuuko being related to Kurogane (Actually, my older sister once told me Yuuko looked like the secret love-child of Kurogane and Tomoyo, a theory I don't find too unplausible, but I liked 'Secret siblings' way more)**

**In further chapters, I'll reveal a bit more of the trama**


End file.
